


A Bloodless Revolution

by BlackCats



Category: Gatchaman Crowds
Genre: Canon Compliant, Flashback, Gen, Introspection, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 17:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3497438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCats/pseuds/BlackCats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He never liked snowy days.<br/>(Rui, Berg-Katze, and decisions made in haste,)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bloodless Revolution

He wasn’t sure when he first became so… _disenchanted_ with it all. Society. Life. Human nature. His ideals would shine through his inner darkness, yes, but some days, he would sit back and simply…remember.

Rui reflected on his memories. He sorted them out one by one, polishing those that were threatening to fray from old age, holding some close to his heart whilst others were discarded, to protect himself from the negativity they brought.

He remembered calm nights spent typing away, penning letters to friends who lived a thousand, _thousand_ miles from him. He remembered first feeling the sliding fabric of a skirt around his waist, tickling his legs, looking in the mirror and appreciating the charm. He remembered the brilliance of jelly beans, layered high in a jar, each one carrying a unique flavor and color, each one bearing its own appeal…much like the people of the world, in his mind.

He remembered compiling his first line of code, his first program, his first foray into foreign languages. He remembered watching X’s prismatic display explode across his screen for the very first time, and that—

_That_ he recalled most vividly of all. X, held in his hands, a voice and companion who understood and loved him no matter _what_ he planned, what he did, and even through the beginner’s mistakes that fell apart at his feet. X, his dearest friend.

And in contrast…

He remembered the snowy day that first brought Berg-Katze to his side.

As if he could ever _forget_.

~***~

A horrible chill had settled across Tachikawa City. The cold front pushed forward with an aggression that spoke almost of a _sentient_ malevolence. The fangs of winter materialized in the form of icicles, jutting from the edges of buildings, making monsters of the post office, the police station, the town hall—each one a teeth-rimmed maw that swallowed the freezing occupants whole. The roads were slick with frozen condensation and thick piles of snow swelled ever higher, burial mounds for the dead and dying greenery.

Through it all, Rui Ninomiya walked alone.

Heels were impractical in this weather. In their place, boots clacked sharply against the frozen cement. Head bowed against the gale, Rui intended to head for the bus stop and await its delayed arrival, nothing more. Snowflakes scattered themselves through the blonde of his favored wig, and had his mood been any better, Rui would have taken a moment to appreciate the beauty brought forth by the recent blizzard—as merciless as it was.

X would have chided him. Would have reminded him to pay attention to the surroundings, to not get too caught up in the graying haze of his thoughts; the recent world events were troubling him deeply. He had to admit, even to himself, that the tension in his shoulders was going to rip him apart.

If something else didn’t first.

“Oh _my_ , what _do_ we have here…?”

The trilling voice sounded from behind him, and Rui whipped around, shock cracking across his previously thunderous expression, like a fracture in stone. “Who’s there?”

He couldn’t see anyone, but he certainly heard them. The voice was both masculine and _not_ , feminine and _not_ ; it actually reminded him a bit of his own…but filled with an indescribable glee. Delighted laughter filled the air, and Rui flinched back as a figure suddenly materialized right before his eyes.

Upside-down. The rest of the person’s identity came to him in fits and starts, his mind working to process the information.

A mouth full of Cheshire Cat teeth. A wild mane of magenta hair. A tail like a chain of black diamonds, waving and spasming behind them like a severed power line. Legs crossed, arms folded, stomach heaving with the force of their own amused laughter—

Rui could scarcely believe it. An alien. An urban legend, a _myth_ , just like the Gatchaman who once fought against them.

Yet there one was. Regarding him like a mouse caught beneath a lion’s paw.

He was fascinated, despite himself.

“W-Who’re you?” The question came out shakier than he would have liked, and the alien only smiled wider.

“ _I_ think the _better_ question is…who are _you?_ ” Righting themselves and landing upon the snow on the dainty end of a single foot, they pointed a black claw in his direction. “The face that you present the world…isn’t exactly the _truuuue_ Rui Ninomiya, now _is_ it?”

The way they sang their words, Rui almost missed the obvious malice seething in every syllable. He took a step back, teeth gritted in defiance.

The wind shrieked.

“Yes, you’re right.” No point in denying it. “I would commend you for finding out, but that isn’t what you’re _really_ after, now is it? What do you want?”

“Ohhh I _like_ that!” The alien leaped into the air, reclining at eye-level as if they were lounging on a soft bed. “Not wasting time with any of the _little_ things! Getting _right_ to the point! That’s good, because beating around the bush is so _terriiibly_ boring…!”

Rui didn’t reply, besides a narrowing of his eyes.

“So, riddle me this—“

“Didn’t you want to get to the point?”

The alien snorted out a laugh. “Oh come _ooon_ , let’s not remove _every_ eensy-beensy tiny _bit_ of fun from this, all right…? Just! Hear me out, Rui-Rui.”

“Tch…!”

Taking that as a confirmation, the alien rested their chin on their folded hands, swiping their tongue across their lips. “What’s the best way to _really_ —“ The word was practically growled. “—cause some chaos? _Hmm?_ ”

“Cause chaos? Why would I answer something like that?”

“Because you’re curious about me and would just _hate_ it if I were to vanish! Leaving you wondering for the rest of your life what _would’ve-could’ve_ happened if you had _oooonly_ answered me…!”

Rui swallowed down another sound of annoyance, fists clenching at his sides. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat, he cast his gaze around, working his mind, thinking desperately. The alien waited surprisingly patiently, kicking their legs in the air like a toddler enjoying a particularly interesting television show.

“Disrupt the status quo,” Rui said at last. “If you shatter what everyone’s grown accustomed to, then that breaks the order, and creates—“

“Chaos! Wonderful, magical, _glorious_ chaos!” The alien was practically _radiating_ joy. “You’re such a _clever_ little boy, Rui-kun! So then, I have to ask…What makes your ambitions even _slightly_ different from that? I already _know_ what you’re thinking. ‘Such a _baaad_ alien! Suspicious! I can’t trust them at all!’ Yet here you are, planning a revolution because this planet just doesn’t satisfy poor, altruistic _you_.”

“Wh-What? That’s not true!” Heedless of his own safety, Rui glared, challenging that simper the other wore with a glower of his own. “I plan to _update_ the world. Peacefully, with the cooperation of everyone!”

“But it’s going much too _slowly_ for you,” replied the alien calmly. “Driving you absolutely _insane_ , isn’t it? Oh, but what _iiif_ …I told you that I could make that dream of yours become an even faster reality? At absolutely _nooo_ price to you!”

“I’d say you’re lying. Why would you help me?”

The alien pouted. “Consider it an _exchange_. You entertained me this evening, so I’ll grant you a power that could alter… _everything_. And what could be more interesting to watch than a revolution?”

A power to change…

A power that could hasten his dream? More than GALAX? Than X? Than his own tireless machinations?

A hundred news reports passed through his mind, each headline containing the worst of humanity’s plight. Death. Illness. Warfare. And yet here was an alien offering a possible solution to it all.

Maybe it was fate. Just like the fabled Gatchaman, those ridiculous superheroes whose legend everyone clung to. How ironic.

And yet—

“…What are the conditions? How does the power work?”

They _looked_ and _sounded_ grievously scandalized. “Now _why_ would I bother with something like _that?!_ _Rules?_ Just _what_ do you take me for?” The alien pirouetted a short distance away, their tail cracking like a whip. Rui winced. “It would be a personification of your own power. Your soul. I’ll create a little NOTE for you, and all I ask in return is the right to visit you every once in a while…After all, you’re so _very_ interesting…!”

Twisting their neck unnaturally sharp in order to look over their shoulder, the alien smiled sweetly. “What do you say, Rui-Rui?”

What did he say.

What did he _say?_

Rui swallowed hard, his throat aching, convulsing, as if he’d gulped down brass nails. “I accept.”

(He would always remember the way Berg-Katze smiled, then. The most cruelly delighted smile of them all.)

“ _Perfect_. C’mere!”

One second ago, the alien had been standing upon the tip of a barren tree. The next, they had teleported lifting him up as easily as a rag doll. Rui didn’t get to protest, to change his mind, to even speak a word, because then—

The alien’s hands sank deep into his chest, burrowing in past the coat, the scarf, the blouse he had on underneath. It was a deeper sort of invasion, surreally thorough, a scarlet light bleeding from around those relentless claws as something deep inside of himself was physically grasped.

Rui screamed. They only kept talking as if the sound was music, _euphoria_ , those painted lips smirking eternally, relishing his agony.

“My _dear_ Rui-Rui. How does it feel? You just obtained the amazing power to materialize—“

Something was ripped from his chest, and _finally_ he was free. Rui hit the ground hard, the snow blessedly cool against the burning heat of his skin.

“—people’s _souls!_ ”

Getting up was out of the question. Simply _breathing_ was a tiresome chore, but Rui made himself look anyway, turn his head to survey the twisting arrival of something that certainly did _not_ belong on this world.

It hit the ground in an electric clamor, all pale, twisting limbs and shades of blue. A circular, bulbous head containing a swarm of television static stared dutifully forward, its entire body trembling like a display threatening to go out of focus.

Rui could only stare, still too exhausted to move.

A sound like steel leaving its sheathe heralded the arrival of an array of spikes that burst from the thing’s back, glinting as coldly as the icicles on the buildings nearby.

“Is that thing…my _soul_?”

The alien sauntered over, still smiling, _smiling_ , gripping whatever they had torn from his chest in their hand.

“Yep! And isn’t it _lovely?_ With this new power, you can make _aaall_ of your dreams become a _reality!_ ”

It had teeth. That _thing_ …his _soul_ …it had _teeth_. There, in the “head” of its vaguely humanoid body, there was a circular array that blossomed out to revealed more and more incisors, canines, vicious _fangs_ …

Rui made himself sit up. Even if he couldn’t stand, even if he couldn’t take his eyes off of the _thing_ that was his soul, he would at least do that much. “H-How is this…going to help…?”

“Well _first_ of all, no one can see it once you activate the Amnesia Effect…! Just _imagine_ the sort of goody-goody heroics you can perform without _anyyyone_ even noticing! It’s all the selfless goodness you ever wanted, _riiight?_ But I haven’t even told you the best part yet.”

Rui jumped involuntarily as a tremble shook across his body, making him feel like a puddle in the rain. Little ripples of unpleasant warmth tickled his skin, and it was because—

The alien had kissed the thing they’d taken from him. What had they called it…his NOTE, he presumed? Simpering endlessly, they simply offered it back to him.

Rui took it slowly. “Th-There’s still so much I don’t…What’s the ‘best part’? What are you talking about?”

“I thought you’d _never_ ask. You can empower as many people as you want! That’s _riiight!_ ” They flicked their hands for emphasis, sitting cross-legged in midair. “Ev-er-y single little person can be gifted with a power _juuust_ like yours, all thanks to your NOTE! I told you the truth, didn’t I? With this power…” Their voice dropped once more. Dark and sultry. “You can change the _world_. Lead the revolution with those you deem fit to assist you.”

He could do it.

He could already see it. Plan it. A world where everyone would—

Rui shook his head hastily. “…Who _are_ you?”

“…A little late on _that_ one, aren’t you, Rui-kun? Better late than never, I suppose. I’m Berg-Katze, but you can call me _Katze-san_ , or _chan_ , or whatever delights that perfect little head of yours!”

In a flash, the alien disappeared, their voice lingering long after their departure.

“I think I’ll give you and your soul a chance to _acquaint_ yourselves, but I’ll be watching, Rui-kun…look forward to my next visit. Feel free to cry Uncle if you can’t figure anything out on your own…!”

With that, he was left alone with nothing but a notebook, his “soul”, and a thousand unanswered questions that he possibly didn’t want to know the answer to after all.

He missed his bus, in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> May become a series of one-shots concerning Rui and Katze.


End file.
